Has the Iraq war been successful?

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Washington (CNN) - Almost seven and a half years ago, President George W. Bush launched a blistering "shock and awe" invasion of Iraq.

The goal: eliminate a perceived threat of weapons of mass destruction while replacing a hostile, tyrannical regime with a friendly democracy in the heart of the Middle East.

On Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET - at a cost of more than 4,400 U.S. military personnel killed and 30,000 wounded - America's combat mission in Iraq will officially draw to a close.

The quick removal of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein ushered in years of grinding sectarian violence, war, terrorist attacks and, according to some observers, increased Iranian influence in the region. But it also paved the way for nationwide elections and increasing economic development.

Whether the war was worth the price remains a subject of fierce debate both at home and abroad.

President Barack Obama, who based much of his campaign for the White House on growing public exhaustion with the conflict, will announce the conclusion of the combat mission in a speech to be delivered from the Oval Office at 8 p.m. ET. He spent the day meeting with troops at Fort Bliss, Texas - a base which has supplied soldiers at all stages of the conflict.

Obama called Bush for a "few minutes" from Air Force One while en route to Texas, according to White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton. The White House has not said if Obama will give Bush any credit during his speech for the controversial 2007-08 military "surge," believed by some observers to have helped curtail Iraqi violence.

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Hurricane Earl continues its forceful journey across the Atlantic Ocean, packing 135 mph (215 kph) winds and moving toward the east coast of the United States.

As of 4 a.m. ET Tuesday, the Category 4 hurricane was about 150 miles (240 km) north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. Earl was headed west-northwest at about 13 mph (21 kph).

The cyclone is expected to turn northwest later Tuesday and could approach the North Carolina coast by Thursday night or Friday morning.

Earl could dump another 1 to 2 inches of rain on parts of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Tuesday, the weather center said. In areas of higher elevations, the hurricane could leave a total of 12 inches of rain.

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Daniel Schorr was a journalistic legend. His career began shortly after WWII. He was one of CBS's "Murrow's Boys," with CNN from day-one, and ended his brilliant career at NPR. While at CNN, Donna Rockwell was one of his producers. Sadly, Schorr died earlier this year, but on this, his 94th birthday, Schorr's producer and friend reflects back on a remarkable man.

By Donna Rockwell

Daniel Schorr taught me everything I know. Well, almost everything.

The famous Murrow Boy, who would have turned 94 today, is a Jungian archetype of the news junkie, a patron saint of journalism, a deity of telling-it-like-it-is reporting, a journalist’s journalist. Dan was still a regular voice on NPR even up until days before his death on July 23 — as a nonagenarian, nonetheless. And those 90+ years should be some of the most celebrated in journalism, as Dan stood strongly for the very principles that are too often overlooked in today’s age of 24-hour, constant online news coverage.

Thirty years ago, Dan hired me as a 23-year-old straight out of journalism school — surely the latest in a long-line of short-lived assistants. These were the first few days of the fledgling Cable News Network (CNN), June of 1980, and Dan chose me as his next young hope. Unlike his first attempts, Dan and I clicked. I was giddy at the opportunity to be a founding member of Chicken Noodle News, as we were dubbed by competing network news executives who watched our round-the-clock coverage with a condescending smirk. (Little did Dan — or anyone else there at the time — fully comprehend the slippery slope that was being created with this experiment for those journalistic principles he cared most deeply about.)

Dan was the senior correspondent of CNN then, the sage interpreter of the day’s events from whom anchor Bernard Shaw often sought explanation and analysis for the meaning of the world’s latest cataclysm or political blowup. Dan, with a full career covering almost everyone and almost everything, was counted on for context.

What do you think about today’s political stories?

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Editor's note: Mary Beth Chapman’s youngest daughter, Maria, was killed in tragic accident in 2008. She was running to meet her older brother in the family driveway as he pulled in – he didn’t see her and struck her with his car. Chapman has written a new book about their heartbreak and grief and working to overcome the pain. She explains to LKL Blog why she wrote the book…

By Mary Beth Chapman

I’m excited that the book, Choosing to SEE, is coming out. It was something that I never thought I would do, or could do, but after the loss of our daughter, Maria, it felt like possibly through my journey of life, I could offer hope to someone else who is suffering.

I want Maria back so badly, and have found myself shaking an angry fist at God as to why He would allow her to be taken and in a way that involved another child. More than two years have gone by now, and I have to say that I am beginning to SEE the blooming of little buds that are a result of the seed of her life that we planted on May 21, 2008. Lives have been touch and changed.

More than anything I still would love to hug her and hold her, but I have to say that God has been faithful to carry us through an unimaginable time. My son is doing well, and he longs to steward this story well. Please know that as I wrote this, I realized that I needed to ‘choose to SEE’ God in all the hard places in my life. I would love to hear what stories of hope come to you from reading my book, and I hope you are encouraged.

Also, please watch for us on tour this fall on the “A Night with the Chapmans Tour.” In each city and at each venue, we will share our stories: our story of adoption, our story of loss, and our story of love and hope. I’m sure there will be tears, but there will be laughs as well! I will be speaking and of course my amazing husband will be sharing in song what is on his heart. Plus a great new and upcoming band, “Caleb” will be opening, so come on out. We hope it’s a sweet evening, and we really hope to see you there.

LARRY KING LIVE'S Emmy-winning Senior Executive Producer Wendy Walker knows what it takes to make a great story.

With anecdotes, provocative emails, scandals, show transcripts and insights into Walker's long working relationship with Larry King, her new book PRODUCER issues readers an invitation to listen in on the most intriguing conversations on the planet.